Sliding flangeway filler and tapered filler block for railroad crossings and frogs



ug 9, 1960 N. F. HIGGs 2,948,497

SLIDING FLANGEWAY FILLER AND TAPERED FILLER BLOCK FDR RAILROAD cRossINGs AND FRoGs Filed April ll, 1956 IN V EN TOR.

nit SWCS Pat@- Norman F. Higgs, no. Box 1642, Fresno, Calif.

Filed Apr. 11,1955, srJNo. 577,523 'i 40mm. "(01.2464-380) i My invention relates in general to'a railway track crossing structure with the general purpose of providing flangeway llers for the lines of rails of 4each trackway in order to provide continuous traction surfaces for the wheels in crossing over the tlangeways and thus prevent jarring of the cars and destruction of the rails. Another object of my invention is to provide llangeway llers which will reduce the wear Iand breakage of wheels by eliminating large gaps between the ends .of the rails.

A further important object of my invention is to .facilitate and make possible the use of rubber surfacing of the wheels by eliminating the damage caused by the sudden jar or dropping at the rail separations in crossings and langeways.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide a retractable device which may be attached to and operated by any of the standard types of signal controls and operating mechanisms.

A further purpose of my invention is to provideaslidg ing angeway ller which contains an emergency safety means for holding together in working condition parts of the flangeway iiller which may become'broken or damaged.

A further object of my invention is to provide a sliding flangeway liller in which the strong and sturdy construction affords long life and also relatively inexpensive costs both for installation and operating maintenance.-

Another purpose of my invention is to vprovide a-.tapered flangeway which is capable of adjustment when worn and may eventually be easily changed 'for the installation of a replacement. v

A further purposerof my invention is to provide a tapered sliding angeway filler which is eticient in operation and requires only a small amount of power to be placed in, to be withdrawn from, and to be retained in the operating position when the 4train wheels are passing over the crossing.

An important advantage of my device is that the tapered filler blocks wherein the angeway llers slide are simple in construction and easy to install in place of the standard ller blocks normally used. v

A further advantage of my invention is that the bearing surfaces of the sliding parts .may be lubricated by using the standard powdered graphite usually available in railway maintenance supplies.

An important object of my invention is to reduce as much as possible the annoying clicking of the wheels arising from passage over unsupported rail intersections.

A further object of my invention is to provide a smooth traction surface thus resulting in minimum vibration and maximum comfort to passengers.

A further object of my invention is to provide a tapered sliding flangeway iiller and cooperating tapered filler block which may be readily constructed at minimum cost as compared to the standard railway crossing.

Another object is to provide a angewayilleradapted for longitudinal slidable movement between spaced rails and between filling and retracted positions.

Additional objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description considered in conjunction with the accompanying sheet of drawings or from both as supplements of each other, wherein are setforth certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangements of parts and functions.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of a main line railway crossing showing anembodiment of my invention. y

Figure 2 is a fragmentary somewhat enlarged section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l including a wheel representation.

Figure 3 is a cross section taken on a plane at a position represented byline 3-3 of Figure 2, also including a wheel representation.Y Y l Figure 4 is a perspective of the angeway ller.

Figure 5Y is a partially sectional perspective of a tapered filler block.

Referring now in detail to Figures l, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the numeral 6 indicates a railway crossing between intersecting tracks 7 and 8 with the assumed direction of travel shown by the arrow 9. f t

Main line rails 10, 11, 12 and 13' are connected or integrally formed with intersecting main line rails 414, 15, 16 and l,17: A'center integrally formed or connected guard rail section is indicated by numeral 18.

Guard rails 19, 2t), 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are connected with or integrally formed with main rails 27, `28, 29 and Sii to form yangeways 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 41, 42, 45, 46, 49, and 50. Within flangeways 35 and 36 are located a pair of retractable llers 37 and 38 operating or'sliding in the opposite direction to that of a pair of retractable lillers 39 and 40 slidably operating in ilangeways 41 and 42.

A pair of Vretractable llers 43 and 44 s'lidably operate inV flangeways 45 and 46m the opposite direction to a pair of retractable fillers 47 and 48 sliding in angeways y49 and 50. t v

As illustrating the use of one type of operating mechanism, the retractable llers 43 and -44 are connected to links 51 and 52 joined by a cross bar 53 to which is attached a pull rod 54. Similarly, retractable fillers 47 and 48 are connected to links 55 `and 56 joined together by cros's bar 57, to which is .attached pull bar 58.

Pull bars 54 and 58V are connected to the track signal and control mechanism so as to be subject to operating forces tending simultaneously to separate them and to remove the retractable fillers 43, r44, 47 and 48 from the portions of the Yilangeways 45, 46, 49 and 50 nearest the crossing intersection. Y

To retractable'llers 37 and 38 are connected links 59 and `60 joined Yby a cross bar 61 to which is attached a pull rod l62. Similarly, retractable fillers 39 and 40 are connectedto links 63 and 64 joined together by cross bar 65 Yto which is attached pull bar 66. Pull bars 62 Iand 66 are connected to the track signal and control mechanism so as to be subject to operating forces tending simultaneously to close them and to position the retractable fillers 37, 38, 39 and 40 in the portions of the ilangeways Y 35, 36, 41 and 42 nearest the crossing intersection. lt will be noted that the retractable llers 37, 38, 39 and 40 are connected rinV pairs to the track signal and control mechanism in arspecial way so as to be in an alternate position `with respect to the retractable llers' 43, 44, 47 and 48, whereby one set of the ma-in line rails 10, 11, 12 and v13 or y14, 15, 16 and 17 at a time is in condition for passage of the train wheels, as 72.

The numeral 67 indicates a typical elongated tapered sliding ller, such as previously referred to by numerals 37, 38, 39,140, 43, 44, 47, and 48, which in operated position has a top longitudinallyextended bridging surface 68 l adapted to be'positioned flush with the top rail surface 69,

and a forward end surface 70 adapted to be positioned ush with the side edge 71 of the rail. The top surface 68 closely lits and contacts the traction surface of Wheel 72, while the end surface 70 forms a barrier or stop for the wheel ange 73.

Tapered sliding iiller 67 is provided for part of its length with a key 74, a bottom full length key section 75, and -a concave slide contacting bottom surface 76. The bottom surface extends along a line in acute angular relation with the top bridging surface 6% so that the top and bottom surfaces taper orl converge, but do not meet, toward the forward end surface 76. The keys dene elongated grooves67a on opposite sides of the filler extended longitudinally of the liller substantially parallel to the bottom surface. The keys 74 have upper substantially horizontal shoulders 7d outwardly extended relative to the top bridging surface.

Drilled lengthwise through the sliding ller 67 is a circular channel or bore 77 in which a wire rope 78 is securely positioned and tensioned by expanded ends 79 and S which are welded or `otherwise tightly secured to the end surfaces itl and S2. Spaced parallel connecting lugs S3 and 84 are fastened to the end 32 of the sliding filler 67. A pin 85 is inserted through apertures in the lugs, and an eye 36 of a pull rod 87 so as to connect the pull rod pivotally to the lugs.

`Cooperating with sliding filler 67 is a tapered filler mounting block 83 tightly secured or wedged between main rail 69 and guard rail 9i). In iller block 88 is formed an elongated, longitudinally extended U-shaped channel 91 having an open top, a concave rounded bottom surface 92 which is complementary to and forms a slide and bearing surface for the rounded bottom bearing surface 76 of sliding filler 67, and side walls upwardly extended from the bottom surface. Channel 9i is formed at a longitudinal angular inclination, with the shallowest channel depth located at a forward rail intersection end 93 and coinciding with a similar channel 94 formed in another intersecting filler block 95 identical with block 83. Ribs 96 and 97 are longitudinally extended along the inner surfaces of the side walls of the channel and are adapted complementarily to fit in the grooves 67a of the liller 67.

The rails 89 and 9% correspond to any laterally spaced pair of rails itl through ll'7 and 19 through 30, shown in Fig. l which form the flangeways 3l through 36, 41, 42, 45, ed, (i9, and t). Each rail has horizontal upper and lower flanges lil@ and lill, respectively, interconnected by a vert-ical web 102. The rails are positioned with their webs in spaced parallel relation and with their upper flanges edgewardly spaced and having their upper load bearing surfaces in a common horizontal plane, as best seen in Fig. 3.

In the utilization of my invention for its several purposes in railway intersections or frogs it is desirable to first replace the standard railway filler blocks with my tapered ller blocks, and subsequently insert each of the sliding fillers and connect the various sets of operating linkages to the appropriate sets of fillers. The connecting ends of the linkages may then be attached to the railway signal and control system, which will then function to close or retract the sliding fillers in accordance with the needs of the system as determined by the towerman or suitable automatic control devices.

More specilically, iiller 67 is mounted for longitudinal slidable movement in the liller block 8S incident to pulling or pushing on the corresponding rods 54, 58, 62., and 66. The fillers' are slidable between upper positions, as seen in Fig. 3, with their top bridging surfaces 68 fitted between and substantially coplanar with the upper surfaces of the upper franges ltltl of the laterally adjacent rails, as 89 and w, and a retracted position with said top bridging surfaces below said rail anges. Engagement of the shoulders 74 with the upper flanges lltltl limits upward sliding movement of the iiller and insures positioning of the bridging .4 surface 68 in a plane precisely coplanar with the load bearing surfaces of the upper flanges. Accordingly, the ller together with the upper flanges provide a continuous load bearing surface for the passage of a train wheel 72 thereover. However, in the retracted position of the liller, the upper surface 68 of the filler is positioned far enough below the upper load bearing surfaces of the anges 100 so that wheel ange 73 does not contact the bridging surface 68.

It will be noted that although I have shown provisions for the operation of my sliding llangeway llers by mechanical linkage control it 'is also contemplated that anyone of several wellknown standard railway mechanisms may be substituted. Suitable connections and adaptations can be readily selected to alter my device for operation by systems of electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic or mechanic al signalling and power sources.

It will be understood that while the form of my sliding llangeway ller and tapered filler block for railroad crossings and frogs, herein illustrated and described, is to be considered as :a preferred embodiment of my invention, l do not limit myself to the precise constructions as disclosed, but reserve the right to resort to and substitute various modications and changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of my claims as described and indicated above and in the drawings and the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. ln a device for use in providing a continuous support surface `at railroad crossings Vin which elongated rails intersect and provide gaps therein at the points of intersection so that railway cars may traverse either of the rails, which rails provide upper surfaces disposed in a substantially common horizontal plane, the combination of an elongated mounting block mounted longitudinally along each -rail and extended from the gap in its respective rail away from the other rail and in alignment with the gap in its said other rail, each mounting block providing an upwardly ldisposed inclined surface from its extended end toward the gap in its respective other rail, a iller member slidably mounted on each of the mounting blocks on said inclined surface thereof for reciprocal movementl along an inclined rectilinear path between a position with the uppermost end thereof disposed in the gap of its respective other rail and a retracted position removed from the gap, means for moving the filler members alternately and oppositely between gap filling and retracted positions, `and means on the fill-er members engaging their respective rails in said gap filling positions and limiting upward movement of Such filler members to positions with their uppermost ends flush with the upper surfaces of their respective rails.

2. lln the device of claim l wherein the rails have upper substantially horizontal flanges providing said upper surfaces of the rails, and wherein said means on the ller members includes shoulders outwardly extended from the filler members and engaging the ilanges of their respective rails in said gap filling positions.

3. In the device of claim 1 wherein each mounting block has a substantially U-shaped channel therein extended longitudinally of the respective rail to which it is connected, wherein the inclined surface of each block constitutes a bottom surface for its respective channel, wherein each channel has side walls upwardly extended from its bottom surface and an open top opening upwardly through the gap in its said other rail, wherein elongated ribs are extended inwardly of each channel from the side walls thereof in longitudinally inclined relation substantially parallel to the bottom surface of their respective channel, and wherein each liller member has elongated side grooves slidably fitted on the ribs in its respective channel for lguiding eaclh filler member along its rectilinear path.

4. The combination of claim l wherein each filler inember has opposite ends spaced longitudinally of the respective rail to which it is connected, and wherein elongated tension members are individually extended longitudinally through the ller members and have opposite ends connected to the opposite ends of their respective ller members for resisting fragmentation of the ller members incident to fracture thereof.

References Cited in the le of this patent i UNITED STATES PATENTS Scott Aug. 8, 1899 Forester Oct. 23, y1917 Stoller Nov. 18, 1930 Goulding y.-- May 20, 1958 

